A New Obstacle
by A Dead Poet
Summary: Alex has some uncommon powers, but sometimes they can get out of hand. When being transferred to Hogwarts, can she deal with Voldemort inviting her to join him, Sirius Black, and the prophecy made about her when she was just a child? SB-OC
1. A New Obstacle

The morning glint of the sun was peaking through her curtains as she rolled over drowsily, trying to cover her annoyed face with her pillow. The clock flashed 10:03 in neon green numbers and her mother was yelling from downstairs.

"Alex! Alex! Alexandra Marcs get out of bed and get ready! You don't want to miss the train do you?"

Alex hurled the pillow away from her and heaved her now petulant self out of bed. She walked over to her mirror and gave a wistful look at her reflection; her cerulean eyes flicked upwards from her grumpy expression, up to her head of golden curly hair which seemed to have taken on a mind of its own. She grumbled and shuffled her way over to her bathroom, strewn with soaps, un-capped toothpaste tubes, and old magazines. Undressing and stepping into her shower, she let the warm water wash over her exhausted body and she gradually felt more awake. Sopping wet, she grabbed a towel, tied it around herself and walked over to her closet where she picked out a pair of faded blue jeans, a teal long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of flats she had gotten on her vacation to Paris. Seizing a watch, a couple of silver bracelets and a necklace with a leopard charm, she cast yet another glance at her more refreshed, but still not fully awake reflection.

Checking to see that she had her Hogwarts trunk completely packed with all of her clothes, school books, and otherwise special mementoes, she snapped her trunk closed, grabbed the cage holding her snowy owl Moonbeam and lugged them both out of her room and down a flight of stairs.

"Leave your things by the front door!" called her mother from the kitchen. The smell of pancakes and bacon was lingering in the downstairs area of their London flat.

Alex dropped her things by the front and walked through the set of French doors leading to her kitchen.

"Good morning star shine." said her mother who was busying herself with the bacon. At age 15, soon to be 16, Alex's mother still hadn't let go of the childish nicknames she had once called her daughter years ago. "I've made you a big breakfast... I don't know if they serve anything on that train...". Mrs. Marcs was a slim woman with blonde curls that matched Alex's and a curvy figure. She was seemingly always in a good mood, but her eyes said otherwise. Ever since Alex's father had been killed as an auror, Mrs. Marcs' eyes had lost their sparkle and were now blank and expressionless. "So, you have everything you need packed?" she asked placing a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of Alex.

"Yes mum..." replied Alex rolling her eyes.

"And you have all the money from your savings account somewhere safe, where it won't get stolen, or lost or-"

"Yes! Mum, you've made me check double check and even triple check my packing list. I have everything I need and if I find that I somehow didn't pack something, I'll send Moonbeam back to you and she'll bring it to me."

"Oh... I suppose I'm just bit worried..." said Mrs. Marcs twiddling her fingers; a sure sign of nervousness. "I mean... what if you somehow, you know... loose control of your powers? You've never had to deal with the kinds of situations other kids your age have..."

"Mum, Dumbledore already sent you a letter explaining everything. I won't tell anybody that I don't trust about my... abilities." Alex shifted in her seat as she remembered how she, as a child had been considered odd and dangerous by the other kids. She was a Summoner, not your average witch. Thing came more easily and instead of having a wand, she could channel energy through her hands to cast spells. Being an animagus didn't help much with her social popularity either; whenever she would change into her leopard animagus state, all of the kids would scream and run away from her. Fearing that her daughter might not be able to handle the stress and depression associated with not having any friends, Mrs. Marcs had taken Alex out of her elementary magic classes and had home schooled her ever since.

"Hurry up and finish eating dear or we'll be late." said Mrs. Marcs.

Alex took a last bite of her pancakes and looked at her mother meaningfully.

"Ready to go?" came a muffled voice behind a piece of toast as Mrs. Marcs grabbed her wand off of the counter.

"Do I look ready to you?" questioned Alex pointing up to her still damp head of hair.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry... I forgot about that no magic policy..." her apologized mother as she whipped out her wand and muttered 'Drievero'. Alex reached up to find her blonde curls completely dry. "Let's go now! Hurry up..." said Mrs. Marcs as she ushered Alex out of the front door and into the car. Pulling out of their driveway, Alex gazed at her house for the last time that year as she and her mother drove of towards Kings Cross Station.

"Here, here... take your ticket dear." Mrs. Marcs said while handing Alex a ticket that read 'Hogwarts Express, Eleven O'clock on the first of September, Platform 9 ¾". "Let's go dear."

"Alex pushed along her trolley and slipped an owl treat to Moonbeam to prevent her from hooting. Alex and her mother arrived between platforms 9 and 10 and stopped. Alex looked at her mother curiously, but then her mother began, "Now, all you have to do is walk strait at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 dear." She said pointing.

Alex turned her trolley to face the barrier, closed her eyes and picked up a fast walk, eventually running head-on towards the barrier. Her feet stopped and she opened her eyes to the sight of a magnificent steam engine. Students and their parents were rushing around the platform, loading luggage and saying their last goodbyes. Alex looked behind her to see her mother appear on the other side of the barrier.

"Alright, let's get your things loaded onto the train..." she said as she helped Alex carry her trunk over to the train. "Oh..." said her mother pulling out a handkerchief from her robes. "I can't believe I won't see you for another full year..." tears had now begun to pour down her face. She quickly pulled Alex into a hug just as the train issued a loud whistle.

"I'll write you every possible chance mum, don't worry" said Alex letting go of her mother.

"Here, I want you to have this." said Alex's mother, pulling out an envelope.

"What is it?" asked Alex taking the envelope and turning it over.

"Just don't open it until you get to Hogwarts?" she replied smiling back at her daughter.

"All right, all right..." mumbled Alex placing the envelope in one of her back pockets.

The train issued another loud whistle and Alex waved goodbye to her mother as the door to her trains' car slide shut. As the train slowly picked up speed, Alex began wandering up and down the train, looking for an empty compartment.

"Excuse me..." said a voice from behind "What would a beautiful girl like you be wandering up and down the train all alone for?"

Alex spun around to see a boy with black hair that fell across his face, and the most curious eyes Alex had ever seen: grey, but so full of life and mischief.

"Nothing." said Alex straitening up.

"Oh, but I think you are doing _something_." said the boy taking a step closer to Alex. "Whether it's looking for a place to sit or..." he grabbed hold of Alex's hand. She quickly withdrew it from his.

"No thanks, I'm sure I can manage." Alex said as she looked disgustedly at the boy.

"Oh, and if you just happened to be wondering, I'm Sirius Black." He said, once again grabbing hold of Alex's hand, but this time shaking it.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Pleased, I'm sure." She said sarcastically.

"I haven't seen you around Hogwarts. Are you new?" asked Sirius with a look of curiosity.

Before Alex had the time to answer with a snide remark, the nearest compartment door flung open and a girl with red hair and bright green eyes stepped out.

"Sirius Black, what girls are you torturing this time?" she scoffed as she pushed him away from Alex. "Here, you can sit with me, far away from that twit." She said gesturing to an annoyed looking Sirius leaning up against a wall.

"Thank you." Said Alex as she lugged her things into the small space as the girl closed the door behind them.

"I'm Lily Evans." said the girl shaking Alex's hand.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Alexandra Marcs." said Alex, hauling her trunk to into the overhead luggage rack.

"Are you new to Hogwarts?" asked Lily sitting across from Alex.

"Yes, I just- just transferred here. Home-schooled."

"Home-schooled?" asked Lily with a note of interest. "I didn't know witches and wizards could be home-schooled..."

Alex shook her head and then looked out the window. The train was passing by numerous fields and mountains. Just then, the compartment door slid open and a boy with warm hazel eyes, circular glasses, and a head of very untidy hair stood in the doorway.

"Long time no see Lily." he said eyeing Lily.

"Hullo James..." said Lily wearily.

"So, I was wondering... once we get to Hogwarts, if you would like to..."

Suddenly, Sirius stepped out from behind James. "Ah, we meet again." he said looking towards Alex.

"So I see..." said Alex crossing her arms.

James looked at Sirius with a 'not-again' sort of look, which Sirius returned with a nod. He walked over and plopped down on the seat next the Alex.

"I don't think I ever caught your name." said Sirius, flipping a strand of hair out of his face.

"Alex Marcs." said Alex trying to shift away from Sirius.

"Ah, a very lovely name for a very lovely girl." said Sirius, moving still closer to Alex. She let out an annoyed sigh and Sirius smiled. "What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing... nothing at all."

A pair of boys then stepped out from behind James. One short plump, and strangely resembled a rat, the other had dirty blonde hair and a kind face.

"Now Sirius..." said the kind looking boy. "Not doing anything... stupid, are we?"

"Oh pipe down Remus..." said Sirius haughtily. "Why don't you and Peter just..." but he was cut off by Lily's screaming.

"All right, that's it! I would like to have a peaceful and non-marauder filled train ride if you don't mind!" With that, she grabbed Sirius roughly by the arm and shoved him out the door.

"My Lily, a little grumpy today aren't we?" said James smirking.

"Not at all James Potter." She said as she slammed the compartment door shut.

Alex looked at Lily with an amused expression. "Very nicely handled." She said.

"Thanks." said Lily, brushing some hair out of her face.

"So, care to tell me who those four were?"

"Some of the most well known mischief makers in the school." answered Lily. "There's Peter Pettigrew... he's the short one, he just sort of follows along with the other three. Remus Lupin, who's really not all that bad. He's very nice and if you're ever have any questions on your homework, he can answer them for you. Then there's James Potter... air-head extraordinaire. He's been trying to get me to go out with him ever since our second year... the git, and I believe you've already met Sirius Black, am I right?"

Alex nodded. "Unfortunately..."

"Don't get involved with Sirius." Said Lily leaning back in her seat. "He's had more girlfriends then all the rest of the guys at Hogwarts put together."

Alex laughed and said "Well, if he wasn't such an air-head I might say he'd have been a decent guy."

Lily laughed and leaned forward a bit. "So Alex, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"


	2. A Group of Unwanted Guests

The train seemed to slow with every passing second. Lily stuck her head out into the trains' hallway. Students all along the train could be seen doing the same, all with the same puzzled expressions on their faces.

"I wonder what's going on..." said Lily plopping back down in her seat. There was a shrill scream from somewhere on board and four figures came hurtling into Alex and Lily's compartment.

"What the...?" cried Lily as someone shouted.

"No time! Lily, get behind me!" and Lily yet out a muffled cry of surprise as a figure forced her behind him. Alex was about the pull out her wand when yet another figure grabbed her around the waste and pulled her into a protective hug. To her right, Alex could hear Lily screaming madly.

"James! James let go of me!"

Alex looked at the figure now clutching her. Tall with black hair... could be none other then, "Sirius! Get off of me or I swear I'll-"but she was cut off by Remus.

"Be quite you two and stay still!" he barked as the lights along the train began to flicker and then were suddenly extinguished. Everything went suddenly still. Alex could feel her heart beating violently. She could hear the heavy breathing of Sirius and the stillness of everything... a stillness that was almost frightening. Alex could see Remus standing behind the locked compartment door, eyes wide open and wand stretched out in front of him as Peter curled up and hid in a corner. Shadowy figures were moving in the hallway, stopping now and then to reach out and slide there foot long claws along the door. Alex clutched Sirius and he held her tighter. An odd sensation was building up in the pit of her stomach, slowly growing stronger until she could feel energy pulsating, waiting to be released from her fingertips. Her eyes lit up and Sirius withdrew, every so slightly, and stared in amazement at Alex's flashing green eyes and glowing hands. Alex concentrated on getting the energy out, directing it anywhere away from her body. As she did so, a golden bubble began to surround her and the rest of the people in her compartment. Sirius, still not letting go, just held Alex tighter and squeezed his eyes shut. Now, the whole of the train was glowing, was absorbed in a giant ball of glowing gold. Alex felt her feet giving way, felt her body going limp as she spiraled down, down into darkness.

Alex woke feeling a set of strong arms wrapped around her. What had happened? Her whole body felt weak and frail and she could hardly move. Her eyes fluttered open and her glance fell upon a very worried looking cabin of people. Alex gazed up into the benevolent face of Sirius which broke out into a grin at the sight of her now open eyes.

"Wow, what happened?" she said sitting up and breaking free of Sirius' embrace.

"We don't exactly know that ourselves..." replied Remus a pensive look on his face.

"Your eyes started glowing and your hands made a giant golden ball that surrounded us all. Then you just... went limp. We didn't know when or if you were going to wake up..." said Sirius.

"Well, I'm fine." Said Alex brushing herself off.

"You're sure?" asked Lily "You're sure you feel alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Alex answered back, now rubbing her throbbing head. "What were those... things? Out in the corridors?"

Remus straitened up and said "Skeletars.".

"Skele what?" asked James trying to get closer to Lily, who simply moved farther over.

"Skeletars." Answered Remus yet again. "How do you say... woman eaters? They feed on unsuspecting women victims when they-"

"Alright, I think I've heard enough." Said Lily screwing up her face is distaste. "Look, Alex... we should be arriving at Hogwarts soon, so I think we had best get changed. I'll show you were you can dress into your school robes."

Alex stepped out onto the Hogwarts platform with Lily, where they both met the howling wind and the pelting rain on their faces. A low voice was raised and it boomed out over the heads of the students. "First years! First years over here!" it called. Alex looked around to see that the voice belonged to an extremely large man, still at the prime of his youth but hidden under a large brown beard, at least twice the height of a normal man, holding a lantern by a group of spluttering and very unhappy little kids. Alex hurried over to the man and raised her voice. "Hello! I'm Alexandra Marcs and I don't really know where-"

"Ah!" said the large man now looking down on Alex "You must be Alexandra Marcs!"

"Yes..." said Alex looking a bit confused. "But you see I just need to know if-"

"Professor McGonagall gave meh special orders for you to ride up ter the castle with the rest o' the 5th years." Bellowed the man sending vibrations through the air.

Alex yelled "Oh, thank you!" and rushed off to find Lily.

"Alex! Over here!" she heard someone calling her name. Lily was standing on her tiptoes over by a row of carriages, her soaking wet red hair hanging in her eyes. "Come this way!" she yelled.

Alex hurried over and Lily grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her off to a nearby carriage. Alex looked around to see each of the carriages being pulled by what looked like very bony horses with leathery wings and very sharp and elongated teeth. Before Alex could inspect the creatures more closely, Lily pulled her inside and slammed the door behind her. She sat in the seat next to Alex and let out of heavy sigh. The carriage smelled faintly of hay and there was a spring sticking out of the seat by Alex's left hand.

"Glad to be out of that mess" said Lily jerking one of her hands out the window as the other one wrung out her sopping wet hair. "Oh, before I forget." Said Lily perking up. "Alex, this is Molly, Molly, this is Alexandra Marcs. She's just transferred here." Lily gestured to a girl with flaming red hair, a round face and a warm smile.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Said Molly shaking Alex's hand.

"Likewise" said Alex. "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"What were those horse things pulling the carriages?" asked Alex.

"What? You- you can see them?" asked Lily, a look of shock on her face.

"Well yeah... but, what were they?" questioned Alex, still confused.

"Thestrals." Replied Lily. "But only people who have- oof!" The carriage had jerked forward and Lily flew back in her seat. "I really wish they would warn us before they start up like that..." grumbled Lily.

Alex looked out one of the closest carriage windows to see a giant castle looming in the distance. Glowing lights could be seen in the oddest places and the towers seemed to reach up higher then the sky itself.

"Wow..." was all Alex could say.

"I'm taking you're getting a good first impression?" asked Molly chuckling.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped and Lily lurched forward a bit, causing her the grip onto Molly.

"Sorry Molly...". She said quickly.

The carriage door swung open and the three of them piled out into the freezing rain, yet again. A tall and slender woman, around the age of thirty, beckoned for all of he students to follow behind her. The woman led them in the direction of the castle, through a set of heavy wooden doors and up two flights of steps before stopping and turning around to look at them.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts." She called out. "Now, I suppose you all know what to do... so I'll let you go take your seats in the great hall." She turned around and began heading down the corridor.

"See you later?" said Alex to Lily.

"Definitely. Hope you get into Gryffindor!" Lily hollered back.

Alex smiled and rushed down the corridor towards the woman.

"Umm... excuse me, Professor?" she said.

"Oh yes dear! You must be Alexandra Marcs, very glad to have you with us dear, very glad indeed. If you'll just follow me..." she led Alex a ways down the corridor, to the left, up a flight of stairs, turned right and ushered her to stand with the group of wet and whining kids Alex had seen earlier on the platform. "Now, you'll just wait here with the first years to be sorted. When the doors open up, walk to the front off the hall and I'll give you and the rest of the group directions from there."

Alex nodded her head to say that she understood and turned to the set of double doors in front of her.

"And dear..." said Professor McGonagall in a voice hardly above a whisper. "Just between you and me, I hope you get into Gryffindor. It is my house after all..." she gave Alex a wink and rushed down yet another flight of steps.

Alex took a deep breath as the doors slowly opened up, and walked with the first years into the great hall.


	3. A Feast Fit for a Queen

Alex stepped inside of the great hall. Brightly lit candles floated towards the ceiling which was adorned with flying buttresses and some sort of spell that bewitched it to look like the night sky. Four long tables seated the many students of Hogwarts, all staring intently at Alex and the other first years making there way up to the front of the hall. Alex spotted Lily and gave a wave. She smiled back and mouthed something that looked like "Go Gryffindor!".

Alex and the first years all filed in front of the teachers table where a stool stood seating a large frayed hat. To Alex's surprise, and apparently most of the first years also, a slit near the bottom of the hat broke open and the hat broke into song. Singing about the four houses and their founders in a very deep voice, the hat seemed to send waves of vibrations throughout the hall. After the hats rendition, Professor McGonagall walked over next to the stool and unrolled a long sheet of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will come up and place the sorting hat on your head." She instructed in a loud voice so everyone could hear her. Heads peered up, over, and out from all four of the tables and excited whispers followed.

"McGraw, Eleanor!" she called and a short girl with mousy brown hair wobbled up to the stool and placed the hat on her head.

"Hmmm...", said the hat. "I think I know where to put you... HUFFLEPUFF!". The table at the far left of the hall broke out into cheers and shouts as Eleanor shook hands and sat down with the rest of her house.

"Brown, Timothy!" called Professor McGonagall.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat, and after Phil Sacraw, Melanie Davies, and Ben Garret were sorted into Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor, Alex's name was called.

"Alexandra Marcs!" said Professor McGonagall with a smile. Alex walked up to the stool, heart pounding so hard in her chest she was afraid it might explode, she turned and sat down. The last thing she saw before the large hat covered her eyes was Lily waving, James jabbing Peter in the ribs and telling him off for not paying attention to the ceremony, and Remus and Sirius both smiling and looking up intently towards the front of the hall.

"Ahhh..." said a voice in her ear. Alex jumped slightly, even though she had anticipated this. "So much talent I see... and a hidden power. Hmmm... clever... very clever. Brave... and opinionated. This is difficult... very difficult indeed."

A wave of panic washed over Alex as she began to fear the worst. What if she couldn't be sorted? What if there had been some sort of mistake? What if Hogwarts didn't allow people like her? But her thoughts were interrupted when the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Alex let out a sigh of relief as she took the hat off and placed it back on the stool. She smiled broadly and made her way over to the Gryffindor table where James clapped her on the back and shouted "Great job!" and Remus shook her hand while congratulating her. Sirius just gave her a sly smile and Lily pounced on Alex, knocking the wind out of her.

"That was brilliant Alex! Simply brilliant!" she said while beaming and pulling Alex down into the seat next to her and Molly.

"Congrats!" said Molly shaking Alex's hand.

Alex was just about to thank Molly when a middle aged wizard stood up. Even though he still looked to be in about his 50's, the man had a very long silver beard. His pointed hat flopped off to one side of his head which held a kind and bemused expression.

"Yes... very good, very good!" he said clapping his hands together and grinning. "Excuse me while I make another boring round of announcements! I would like to remind everybody that the Forbidden Forest is strictly... forgive me for being so redundant... forbidden! And, Mr. Filch has kindly asked me to remind you that all dungbombs, stinkpellets, cobweb blasters, and bashing boomerangs should stay inside of your dorms at all times. Unless..." he added with a look of mischief in his sparkling blue eyes. "Unless,there happens to be a great need to produce these items from their hiding places. Now that we have all that said... I believe a feast is in order." And with that, the golden platters and plates all suddenly filled with mounds of delicious steaming food. Alex gasped and Lily smiled.

"I suppose you've never seen a Hogwarts feast before?" she joked.

Alex began piling her plate with endless amounts of food. All through dinner, Alex watched James and Sirius fling their chicken bones at each other while Lily sighed and gave them a look of disapproval.

After the feast, Alex and Lily both got up from their seats and walked out of the great hall.

"I'll show you where the dorms are." said Lily as she began walking up a flight of stairs. "Be careful around here..." she said. "The staircases like to change whenever they-"but she stopped talking as the staircase they were standing on started moving up and towards the left. "Right..." she said exasperatedly. "Guess we'll just take the long way."

After passing many suits of armor, climbing obscene amounts of stairs and passing halls of portraits, including one of a crazy knight that kept trying to get them to duel with him, Alex and Lily finally made it to the portrait of a very plump lady in pink.

"Password?" she asked in a high pitched voice.

"Cockroach Cluster." Said Lily and the portrait swung open to reveal a large hole in the wall. The two of them climbed through it and found themselves in a cozy common room.

"Ahhh... it's so nice to be back home again." said Lily with a dreamy sigh.

Warm lighting, bookcases, desks and an assortment of plush couches stood around the circular room which also held a brightly lit fireplace. Lily plopped onto a nearby couch and closed her eyes for a moment. She then sat up suddenly and pointed to two staircases at the far end of the room.

"Those are the entrances to the boys and girls' dormitories. Girls on the right, boys on the left." She said pointing. "It's really quite funny..." said Lily looking towards the boys' dorms. "Girls can get up into the boys' dormitories, but whenever a guy tries to get into the girls', the staircase turns into a slide making it impossible for them to reach the top. Comes in handy quite often..." said Lily giggling.

Just then, four figures clambered through the portrait hole.

"Ahh..." said James spying Lily.

"If it isn't our two favorite ladies!" finished Sirius directing his attention towards Alex.

"James..." said Lily annoyed.

"Sirius..." said Alex in the same fashion.

"So sorry, but it seems to be getting quite late and Alex and I were just heading up to our dorms." sid Lily. "Come on Alex..." said Lily.

They walked over towards the girls' staircase and halfway up Alex heard her name being called.

"Alex!" said Sirius from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes?" asked Alex spinning around to face him.

"Night." He said warmly.

"Night." sid Alex flatly as she turned and made continued her way up the staircase.

She walked up into the dorm and found her things lying at the end of one of the many four poster beds around the room. Her owl was sitting on her pillow and gave an excited hoot at the sight of her. Patting her and then proceeding to change into a pair of terrycloth pajamas and a tank top, Alex jumped onto her bed and lost herself in the comfortable layers of her goose down comforter.

"Night Lily." She yawned over at the bed next to her.

"Night Alex." Replied Lily sleepily.

"Night Alex." Repeated the rest of the dorm.

"Night everybody." Said Alex laughing before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	4. Sirius the Loser

A/N: Hey there! Hope everybody's having a nice day. It took me a bit to write this quiz and I really hope

you guys like it. Please leave me comments telling me what you think! Thank you!

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Alex woke up extremely early the next day and looked at her reflection in the mirror. As usual, she found something displeasing about her appearance and scrunched up her face is distaste. She combed her fingers through her wavy hair and walked towards the bathrooms with a look of anguish on her face. She hopped in the shower and sighed. Things were pretty hectic right now, and the scolding water seemed to wash away all of her worries.

She dried her hair, picked out a clean out a clean outfit, and threw her school robes over her shoulders. She ruffled her hair and crossed her arms. 'It's always something…' she thought to herself.

Making sure not to wake any of the other girls in her dormitory, she hurried down the stairs and looked around the deserted common room. There was a sharp rapping noise from somewhere and she looked around. She was startled to see four or five owls carrying an elongated package outside of a window. She ran over and opened it and the owls came fluttering in. She spied a note on the package which had her name written in very nice handwriting. She knew that writing… her mothers. She hastily opened the letter and read:

_Dear Alex,_

_I hope your having a wonderful time at Hogwarts. It brings back so many memories from when I went to school… I'm anxious to hear which house you were put into. Your father and I were both Gryffindors. I was the prefect and he was the immature class clown who loved Quidditch._

_Anyways, I got you an early birthday present. It was your fathers so keep it somewhere safe._

_Love you-_

_Mom_

Alex folded up the letter and stuck it in the pocket of her robes. She kept all the letters her friends and family sent her in a small box under her bed. This one, no matter how ordinary, couldn't be excluded.

She now directed her attention towards the long package and ripped through the tough brown wrapping. She gasped to see a magnificent broomstick roll out from the packaging. It was sleek with engraved letters on the handle that read "Nimbus 1900- David Marcs". Alex ran her fingers over the engraved letters. "Dad…" she whispered and she felt something burning inside of her. An emotion of sadness and joy that seemed to confuse the rest of her senses. She picked up the broomstick and admired it from every angle; directing her attention at the smooth curves and shining gold letters. She had a sudden surge of excitement and raced out of the common room and out onto the grounds. The sun had just risen and everything around seemed so peaceful. She swung her left leg over the broom and stood there for a moment; hesitant about what to do. "Go?" she questioned aloud. "Fly? What am I supposed to say?". 'Don't a say anything… will it…' said a voice in the back of her head. She concentrated on taking off into the air, soaring above the castle. To her surprise, she felt her feet immediately leave the ground and she was flying 10, then 30, then 50 feet above the ground. The broom steered so easily and accelerated so fast, it was absolutely amazing. Alex gasped as she looked around. The castle as breathtaking from this height. Turrets skyrocketing upwards and windows gleaming in the morning sunlight. The grounds glistened with new dew below her and the forest loomed in the distance. It was hard to take in all at once. Alex zoomed through the air, the wind whipping her face. She felt so free, so without boundaries. Flying seemed to take her to a place all her own. She uncovered her daring side and did a couple of loops. It felt so wonderful…

"You sure can fly." Said a voice directly above Alex. She shot a glance upwards to see Sirius smirking from his broomstick.

'Great…' she thought to herself. 'I finally get a moments peace and HE shows up…'

"You should try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team." He continued, floating down next to Alex. "You'd make a great addition."

"Glad you think so…. Highly of me." She said as she flew up above him.

Sirius laughed and followed behind her. "What do you say… to a race?" he inquired.

"A race?" Alex asked and Sirius nodded his head vigorously. "Against you?".

Sirius smirked. "Yes, as in… you and I… racing."

"I know what you mean I just-"

"And to add a little prize into the event…" said Sirius. "Let's make a bet."

"What kind of bet?" asked Alex stopping and turning her broom to face Sirius'.

"Well, let's just say if I win… you have to go on a date with me." Said Sirius casually.

Alex looked at him in outrage and he merely grinned back. "Fine." She said. "But if I win, you have to stand up in front of everybody at breakfast time and say whatever I want you to."

"Deal." Said Sirius taking Alex's hand and shaking it.

The two of them lined up next to each other. "Alright," said Sirius. "We'll race around that tower over the courtyard around the lake once, down back into the courtyard and through that long corridor and come back out onto the grounds and whoever makes it to the front steps first wins."

"Alright." Said Alex, crouching down low to her broom.

"I'll give you a 5 second start… only because you've never ridden on a broom before now." Said Sirius leaning back.

"I don't need your sympathy." Retorted Alex. "If we're going to do this we have to do it fair and square."

"Have it your way." Said Sirius. "On the count of three." He said, also crouching down to his broom handle.

"One..." said Sirius.

"Two…" said Alex.

"Three!" and they both shot off around the castle. Sirius flew right below her and as they neared the tower, zoomed above her and shot ahead. Alex clenched her teeth and urged her broom to go faster. She rocketed forward and soon caught up with Sirius. They zoomed around the courtyard to obtain the looks and comments of the people below them. They all pointed upward and gasped. Alex looked over at Sirius and he looked back, loosing his concentration. He was forced to dodge a large tower that appeared in front of him. He made a sharp turn and was soon caught up with Alex. They raced towards the lake and Alex flew down, directly above the water as Sirius flew above her. Her toes skimmed the water as she traced around the outside of the lake. Alex flew abruptly into the air, and cutting off Sirius, flew up and over towards the courtyard. He raced next to her and they both flew up, up, up, until they were neck-and-neck. Once they were over the courtyard, Alex went into a steep dive. Sirius followed suit and they were both racing towards the ground at the speed of light. Alex pulled out of the dive and raced through the outside corridor, triggering many people to scream and jump out of the way of her and Sirius. She made a sharp turn around a corner and whizzed towards the front steps, Sirius close on her tail. Sirius was directly in beside her, and then… in front of her? 'No… he can't win…' she thought. 'Faster… GO FASTER!!!" she thought. At the last second, she shot forward and arrived in front of the school… first. She came to a fast stop and got off of her broom, a look of triumph plastered on her face. Sirius did the same, but instead wore a look of defeat and irritation.

"Lucky race…" he mumbled. "I wasn't… if we were in a game I would have…" he began to babble as he crossed his arms.

"Good race." Said Alex cheerfully. "Now about breakfast time…."

**Later at Breakfast**-

Peter, James, and Remus all sat down at the Gryffindor table. Remus looked around and said "I wonder where Sirius has got to…".

"Probably off snogging some girl…" said James with an unsurprised tone.

Remus gave him a look of disapproval as he saw Lily walk over.

"Any of you see Alex this morning?" she asked looking around at the three of them.

"No… we were just wondering the same about Sirius…" said Remus trailing off.

The four of them exchanged knowing looks and James smiled slightly. Lily looked at him with a look of horror on her face.

"No…" she stammered. "Alex would… she'd never…" but she cut herself off in mid sentence as she saw a happy looking Alex and an angry looking Sirius walk into the great hall. Lily ran over to the two of them.

"Alex, we were wondering where you got to! You and Sirius weren't… I mean…"said Lily looking down towards the ground as though searching around for something to say.

"No… on the contrary Lily. Sirius and I were… making a bet." Said Alex grinning at Sirius who had just sat down at the Gryffindor table and was being questioned by Remus, Peter, and Sirius.

"What kind of bet?" asked Lily, also smiling.

"You'll see…" said Alex, making her way over to the table with Lily.

Alex and Lily sat across from the four boys and Alex whispered to Sirius "Go on."

Sirius let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes before getting to his feet. "Attention Hogwarts!" he called. "I, Siruis Black, would just like to say a couple of words before breakfast begins. Firstly, I would like to say that I am one of the most insufferable gits you could ever hope to come across and that I would rather snog myself then any of the girls at Hogwarts.". He glared down at Alex who beckoned him to continue. "Further more, I would like to say I am an airhead with no common sense who likes to stare at himself in the mirror every night, just so I can dream about my beautiful face. And on a final note, I'd like to add that Alexandra Marcs is a smart and pretty girl who actually does have feelings and would rather share a kiss with a blast ended skrewt, rather then she would me.". Sirius sat down, his face a light magenta. "Happy?" he mumbled.

"Very much so, thanks." Said Alex taking up her fork and beginning to eat her pancakes.

"That was… brilliant." Said Lily in Alex's ear. "How did you ever get him to say that?"

"Oh, I have my ways…" said Alex smirking and continuing to eat her food.


End file.
